John McAfee’s Instagram account shared a mysterious post – an image of the letter “Q” – just minutes after his death in a Spanish prison was made public.
The anti-virus software pioneer’s death – which Catalonian officials say appears to be suicide – has sparked numerous conspiracy theories as social media users dig up old posts on Twitter.
Many shared a tweet from eight months ago in which UK-born McAfee, 75, wrote he would never take his own life “a la Epstein” in a reference to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who died after he was found hanged in a New York jail cell in 2019.
Minutes after McAfee’s death was announced on Wednesday, his Instagram account shared an image of the letter “Q” in an apparent reference to the discredited and bonkers QAnon conspiracy theory.
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(Image: Instagram)
McAfee was detained last October 3 at Barcelona’s airport after years on the run from the authorities in the US, where he had been indicted on tax evasion charges and charged in a cryptocurrency fraud case.
He was found dead in his cell in Barcelona’s Brians 2 Prison, where he was sharing his cell with another inmate but was alone when he died, a jail source told Reuters.
His death came following a court decision to allow his extradition to the US.
McAfee had tweeted on October 15, 2020: “I am content in here. I have friends. The food is good. All is well. Know that if I hang myself, a la Epstein, it will be no fault of mine.”
In a post on November 30, 2019, he revealed a tattoo reading “$ WHACKD” on his right arm, writing: “Getting subtle messages from U.S. officials saying, in effect: ‘We’re coming for you McAfee! We’re going to kill yourself’.
“I got a tattoo today just in case. If I suicide myself, I didn’t. I was whackd. Check my right arm.”
McAfee didn’t provide any evidence to back up his claim.
By April, McAfee was complaining he had only limited human contact and “no entertainments – no escape from loneliness, from emptiness, from myself”.
(Image: WireImage)
Shortly after his death was announced on Wednesday, his verified Instagram account shared an image of a black “Q” on a white background.
It was unclear who shared the post, but the account has since been taken offline.
The post was an apparent reference to the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory pushed by far-right supporters of disgraced former US president Donald Trump.
Conspiracy theorists also pointed to a post by McAfee’s wife, Janice, who claimed just days ago on Father’s Day that “US authorities are determined to have John die in prison”.
(Image: @officialmcafee /Twitter)
She claimed: “John’s honesty has often gotten him in trouble with corrupt governments and corrupt government officials because of his outspoken nature and his refusal to be extorted, intimidated or silenced.”
She added: “Now the US authorities are determined to have John die in prison to make an example of him for speaking out against the corruption within their government agencies.”
Mrs McAfee also told how her husband’s time in prison in Spain had been “especially hard on his overall health both mentally and physically, as well as financially”.
McAfee’s lawyer, Javier Villalba, told Reuters on Thursday he had seen no sign before the entrepreneur’s death in a Spanish prison that he would take his own life.
(Image: @officialmcafee /Twitter)
A post-mortem was being carried out.
A spokeswoman for Catalonia’s Justice Department said the death appeared to be suicide but the final cause would be determined by the post-mortem.
The prison has opened an internal investigation, she said.
Mr Villalba said McAfee, who launched the world’s first commercial anti-virus in 1987, appeared to have hanged himself in despair after nine months in the prison.
He said: “I had constant telephone contacts with him. At no point had he shown any special worry or clue that could let us think this could have happened.”
The lawyer said he felt “pain, anger, lack of understanding because it was not justified under any circumstance that this man remained in the jail.”
During a court hearing last month, McAfee said that given his age, he would spend the rest of his life in jail if convicted in the United States.
“I am hoping that the Spanish court will see the injustice of this,” he said, adding “the United States wants to use me as an example.”
(Image: X80002)
McAfee had lived for years on the run from US authorities. He was indicted in Tennessee on tax evasion charges and was charged in a cryptocurrency fraud case in New York.
McAfee said in 2019 that he had not paid US income taxes for eight years for ideological reasons.
That year, he left the United States to avoid trial, largely living on a megayacht with his wife, four large dogs, two security guards and seven staff.
He offered to help Cuba avoid a US trade embargo using cryptocurrency and sought to run for US president for the Libertarian Party.
McAfee, who said in 2018 that he had fathered at least 47 children, lived in Belize for several years. He fled after police sought him for questioning in the 2012 murder of a neighbour. They ultimately said he was not a suspect.